Button-attaching machine.



B. TLLEVEQUE. BUTTON- ATTACHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 1AN.!8,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

T. LEVEQUE. BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-1B. 19H.

Patented] Jam. 7 191,9.

9 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2;

B. T. LEVEQUE. BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 1AN.I8. 1917.

1,290,253 Patented Jan. 7,1919.

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it ill ll till Fllllllllltfllll THOMAS; lLIlEiTlE-QUE, 01E 'WIENHAM, MASSACHUSFTT$,.ASSIGNUR, BY lldlilSl llil dSSIffIl l'lldEhl'TS, 1'0 "UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COHFUll/ATION, F FdllllElltS Uil l', NEW d'lEltlSEli, h EUMJPUHATIUN OF NEW JERSEY.

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specification of Letters Patent.

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original application filed July 17, rate, Serial No. 109,694.. Divided and this application filed. January it, 1917. serial lilo. l ldmlfi.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, lBnRNAnn 'l. Lnvnopn, at Wenham, in the county of Essex and cmrnonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-Attaching Machines; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

The invention relates to button attaching machines, and more particularly to the means for feeding buttons to the button attaching mechanisms of such machines.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 109,694, filed July 17, 1916.

The object of the invention is to provide novel and efficient means for supplying buttons to a button chute and for positioning them at the delivery end of the chute, and to otherwise improve the button feeding mechanism. llo these ends the invention comprises the'features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and referred to in the claims.

The invention will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanyingv drawings and the following detailed description of the mechanism illustrated therein.

ln the drawings.- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine .for sewing on buttons embodying the invention in its preferred form; Fig. dis a sectional view through the button hopper on line 2. Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the lower end of the button chute: Fig. lis a sectional view on line 4. Fig. 3: Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5. Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the center of the button delivery hopper and button chute; Fig.7 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the lower end of the button chute: Fig. 9' is a detail view looking toward the right in Fig. 8: and Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line 10. Fig. T.

ln the drawings the invention is shown.

reciprocating and laterally movable eye pointed needle 2 and looper fingers -t which coiiperate with the needle in passing a primary loop through the Work and through a button eye, passing a secondary loop through the work and through the primary loop outside the eye, and passing the secondary loop over the button head. The button is fed into position for the passage of the needle through its eye by a button chute which isswung in the line of feed to withdraw the partially attached button from the chute, and to push the button through the secondary loop asit is passed over the button head.

'lhe button chute comprises a front plate 6 groovedto permit the passage of the button shank, and provided at its lower end with two positioning plates 8. lhe plates 8 till dli

are spaced to provide a shank slot between them which curves to present the button shank of the lowermost button in the chute in a horizontal plane. The button heads are supported as the buttons pass down the chute by a back plate it) which is secured to the front plate by screws 12 passing through lugs in the back plate which are slotted so that the back'plate may be conveniently .end of the back plate 1th Theclamp is forced in a direction to disengage the button head by a torsional spring 22. The clamp is provided with an upwardly projecting spring arm 2f, the upper end of which is bent to form a cam 26 which is arranged to engage. a fired roll 98 as the button chute swings into button presenting position. 'lhe button stop if is pivoted on the clamp lti, and is held normally in position by a torsional spring 3d. 'lhe stop is provided with ltllll a laterally projecting lug 32 which carries an adjusting screw 34' arranged to engage the rear side of the button clamp, and to determine the position of the stop with relation to the front face of the clamp.

When the chute is in button presenting position, as indicated in Figs. 3, 4i and 5, the cam 26 is in engagement with the roll 28, and the clamp is forced yieldingly forward to press the button laterally against the positioning plates 8; When the button chute is swung toward the right to withdraw the button from the chute as above described, the button stop yields to permit the button to pass from the end of the chute, and as the movement of the chute toward the right continues, the cam 26 disengages the roll 28, so that the clamp is swung by the spring 22 back out of the path of the buttons. The lowermost button in the chute then passes down against the stop, where it is in proper position to be carried by the forward movement of the chute into position for the passage of the needle through its shank. The button engaging face of the stop 14 is arranged at substantially an angle of to the plane of the positioning plates, and will properly locate any size of buttons having substantially hemispherical heads, the adjustment of the back plate for any size of button head bringing the stop into proper relation to the positioning plates to correctly locate the button in the chute. In case the machine is to operate upon Milo buttons. or similar buttons having flat 0r disk-shaped heads, an adjustment of the button stop with relation to the clamp will be required, and the proper adjustment may be readily secured by turning the adjusting screw 34. i

The button chute is supported by a trunnion 36 formed in line with its upper end and engaging a bearing 38 on the head of the machine. The proper swinging movements are given to the chute to position and withdraw the lowermost button. and to advance and retract the button pushing fingers 40 through a link 42 connecting the lower end of the chute with an arm 44 which is secured to the forward end of a rock shaft 46. The rock shaft is actuated through suitable connections from a cam-on the cam shaft.

The buttons are supplied to the upper end of the raceway from a small delivery hopper 48 which is provided on its lower side wall with a button delivery opening 50 shaped to receive a button and forming the mouth of a short guideway 5 which registers with the shank guiding s ot of the button chute and ends at the axis of the trunnion 36. The lower end of the supply hopper is closed by a base or back plate 54 which registers with and forms a continuation of the back plate 10 of the button chute. The base plate is menace secured to the hopper by a screw 56 which passes through a slot in a guiding lug 58 projecting from the base plate and guided between ribs on the side of the hopper. The base plate may be readily adjusted for different sizes of buttons, or may be dropped sufiiciently to enable all the buttons in the hopper to be discharged between the lower edge of the hopper and the plate. A button agitating brush 60 is mounted within the hopper to play across the delivery opening 50. The brush is secured to the lower end of a shaft 62 which extends up through a bearing in the top of the hopper and carries a pinion 64 at its upper end. The pinion is engaged by a gear segment 66 secured to the upper end of the button chute trunnion 36 so that the agitator brush is oscillated by the oscillation of the chute. The pinion is clamped .against a shoulder on the shaft (52 by a cam lever 68 pivoted on the upper end of the shaft 62. This lever may be turned by the operator to free the pinion from the shaft, and thus permit the brush to be agitated by hand if desired.

The buttons are supplied to the delivery hopper 48 from a large supply hopper 70 arranged at one side of the delivery hopper and communicating therewith through a supply opening 72 arranged in the side wall of the delivery hopper above and out of line with the delivery opening 50. With this construction and arrangement a large supply of buttons may be carried in the supply hopper 70 and be gradually delivered into the delivery hopper 48 without packing the buttons closely in the delivery hopper. or in such manner as to clog or interfere with the agitation of the buttons within the delivery hopper by the agitator brush. Since the supply opening through which the buttons pass to the delivery hopper is formed in the side of the delivery hopper. andput of line with the delivery opening through which the buttons are fed to the chute, the buttons will not completely fill the delivery hopper, and as the space within the hopper is comparatively small, the loose mass of buttons will not. press upon the agitator in such manner as to interfere-with its proper and efiicient action. The upper rear wall of the supply hopper is preferably so shaped that it will retain the buttons within the hopper when the frame of the machine is tipped up to give access to the cam shaft and parts carried by the machine base.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described in constructing a machine embodying all the features of the invention in their preferred forms, it will be understood that this specific construction and arrangement of the parts is not essential to the broader features of the invention, but

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neaaae may be varied or modified as found desirable or best suited to the construction and arrangement of the cotiperating parts of the machine in which any feature oi the invention is to be embodied.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention, and specifically described one form of machine in which it may be embodied, what is claimed is 1. A button attaching machine. having, in combination, button attaching mechanism, a button chute, a hopper provided with a delivery opening through which individual buttons are delivered by gravity to the chute andwith a lateral supply opening in its side wall above and out of line with the delivery opening, and a supply hopper for delivering buttons through the supply opening.

2. A button attaching machine, having, in combination, a button chute, a hopper provided with a delivery opening through which individual buttons are delivered to the chute, a button agitator working across the delivery opening, and a supply hopper at one side of the delivery hopper and communicating therewith through an opening in the side wall of the delivery hopper approximately at right angles to the delivery opening.

3. A button attaching machine, having, in combination, a button attaching mechanism, a stationary hopper havin an outlet, a vibrating chute for conductlng buttons from the outlet to the attaching mechanisms, an agitator in the hopper, and connections for actuating the agitator from the chute.

4. A button attaching machine, having, in combination, button attaching mechanism, a button chute for presenting buttons to the attaching mechanism, a button clamp at the end of the chute, a yielding button stop having an inclined face, and adjusting means for determining the extent to which the stop projects beyond the face of the clamp.

5. A button attaching machine, having, in combination, button attaching mechanism, a button chute provided with an adjustable back plate, a button clamp and a yielding button stop having an inclined tace both mounted on the back plate, and means for adjusting the stop with relation to the face of the clamp.

6. A button attachingmachine, having, in combination. button attaching mechanism, a button chute for presenting buttons to the attaching mechanism. a button clamp at the end of the chute, a button stop having an inclined face mounted on the clamp, and an adjusting screw on the stop engaging the clamp and determining the extent to which the stop projects beyond the face of the clamp.

7. A button attaching machine, having, in combination, button attaching mechanism, a button chute provided with an adjustable back plate, a hopper for delivering buttons to the chute provided with a base plateforming a continuation of the back plate and the chute, and means whereby the hopper back plate may be adjusted for dilierent sizes of buttons or dropped sufficiently for the discharge of the buttons in the hopper between the base plate and lower edge of the hopper.

8. A button attaching machine, having, in combination, button attaching mechanism, a button chute comprising a front plate having a shank slot and an adjustable back plate provided with slotted lugs on the front side of the chute. screws connecting the lugs with the front plate, a hopper provided with a shank guiding slot registering with the slot in the front plate of the chute and with a base plate provided on its front side with a slotted lug fitting between ribs on the front side of the hopper, and a screw securing the lug to the front side of the hopper. I

9. A button attaching machine, having in combination, button attaching mechanism, a button chute. a delivery hopper having an inclined base forming a continuation of the back plate of the chute and having substantially cylindrical walls, a supply hopper arranged at one side of the delivery hopper and communicating therewith through an opening in the side wall of the delivery hopper.

10. A button attaching machine, having in combination, button attaching mechanism,

a button chute, a delivery hopper having an inclined base forming a continuation oft the back plate and the chute 'and having substantially cylindrical walls, a supply hopper arranged at one side of the delivery hopper and communicating therewith through an opening in the side wall of the delivery hopper above and out of line with the entrance to the chute.

11. A button attaching machine, having in combination, button attaching mechanism. a button chute, a delivery hopper provided with a delivery opening through which indi vidual buttons are delivered to the chute, and a supply hopper at one side of the delivery hopper and communicating therewith through an opening in the'side wall of the delivery hopper. the rear wall of the supply hopper being shaped to retain the buttons when the machine is tipped up.

BERNARD THOMAS LEVEQUE.

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